Who says too many cooks spoil the broth? “The Fearless” is a surprisingly entertaining miniseries spinning out of the leaden “Fear Itself” event. The story is plotted by no fewer than three people, Cullen Bunn, Matt Fraction and Chris Yost, with Cullen Bunn writing the script. The concept is quite straightforward: Brunnhilde the Valkyrie is racing Sin to recover the hammers of the Worthy, which were scattered after the defeat of the Serpent. This issue features some good dialogue for Namor, who is guarding the hammer once wielded by Nekkrod, and for Brunnhilde. “The Fearless” is doing a good job of fleshing out the character of Valkyrie, a hero who has been around for decades, but who has never been given much of a personality. It looks like Valkyrie may not survive this mini, since she is not eating her magic apples of Idunn (which grant Asgardians their virtual immortality). If she does die, it would be a shame for that to happen right after some writers finally made the effort to develop her character.
The pencils for this issue are also a team effort, being handled by Paul Pelletier and Mark Bagley. Surprisingly, their styles blend quite well, since both have a tendency to draw rather angular faces. I particularly like the design of the armor worn by Valkyrie and her horse in the closing pages of the comic.